Forum:Regional heraldic styles
For those who may be interested in developing a device for submission, I would like to briefly introduce you to regional heraldic styles. You may have wondered if there were distinctive styles of coat armory in different countries or regions of Europe, and the answer is yes, there were several distinctive styles that had emerged by the end of the Middle Ages. Unfortunately, SCA heraldry tends to presume British heraldic style and some typical expressions of continental styles are not recognized by the SCA's rules for submission. Don't let that stop you from getting creative and breaking out of the early British heraldry mold, though. Several other styles have been recognized, each with some interesting features that may appeal to you. Baron Christopher von Warnstedt identified four distinctive "heraldic provinces" of Europe back in 1970. These include: *'German-Nordic'. Germany, Scandinavia, the Baltic States, north and central Switzerland **Furs are very rare; **Purple is reserved to the royal canopy and the lining of the royal crown and never appears on the shield; **Black is "amphibious" (may be placed upon colours as well as metals); **Cadency is usually indicated by a change in crest rather than any change on the shield; **Design elements on the shield are often reflected in the crest(s); **Multiple helmets and crests are common; **Helmet(s) and crest(s) are inseparable from the shield; **Stars have six points by default, have straight edges, and are never pierced; **German heraldry does occasionally make use of Kürsch (natural fur), which is unknown to British heraldry. **German heraldry also makes use of unusual forms of lines of division, such as Im Lindenblattschnitt (party per linden leaf), which are unknown outside the German-Nordic tradition. Note: It is also worth noting that in continental heraldry, the lion and the eagle had certain political implications in their heraldic use. The eagle was a symbol of Imperial power in the Holy Roman Empire all the way back to Charlemagne, and from the 12th century the Imperial eagle generally had two heads, while the German king ("Emperor-to-be") bore an eagle with one head. The lion, by contrast, became the symbol of the decentralized power of the German princes. Certain free cities of the Empire were granted the right to display their city arms supported by the Imperial eagle. Eagles and lions may also be coloured with variations such as barry, bendy, chequy, etc. (See the barry lion of Hesse and the chequy eagle of King Winceslaus II of Bohemia for examples.) *'French-British' (also called Gallo-British). France and the British Isles (also US, Canada, Australia, etc. by extension) **Furs are relatively common (particularly ermine and vair), and include many variations (such as potent, erminois, pean, etc.); **Black is always considered a colour and may only be placed upon metals; **"Mullets" have five points by default and straight edges and are frequently pierced, while "estoiles" (which are never pierced) have six points by default and wavy edges, though six-pointed, straight-edged "stars" commonly occur in Scottish heraldry; **Cadency is usually indicated by the use of brisures (specially designated marks) on the shield and almost never by a change in the crest; **Helmets and crests appear singly (only one to a shield) and are separable from the shield (though this practice is relatively recent - only becoming common in the Victorian era). **Lions and leopards are common, though there is much disagreement among heralds over what defines a "leopard" (an interesting discussion of this can be found at Wikipedia:en:Talk:Attitude (heraldry)#what is a leopard?); **Eagles are quite rare and almost always denote a connection to German heraldry. *'Latin'. Southern France, Spain, Portugal, Italy (and by extension Latin America and other regions under Spanish and Portuguese influence) **Mostly similar to Gallo-British style, but with some significant differences: **Distinctive shield shape (see picture at right); **Tiercing (dividing the shield into three fields) is common, especially "tierced in mantle" or chapé (see example); **Stars typically have eight points; **Red and gold are the predominant tinctures. *'Eastern European'. Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Poland, Russia, Ukraine and Lithuania **Pronounced territorial heraldic clan system, i.e. a whole parish or village bear the same shield of arms; **Inescutcheons displaying the paternal arms are frequent; **Owners’ marks or similar figures are common as coats of arms; **Negative charges are a characteristic feature; **Silver on red or blue are dominant tinctures; **Marks of cadency are practically unknown. Dutch (heraldry of the Low Countries) has also been identified as another heraldic tradition. See Wikipedia:en:Heraldry#National styles for more information. Also, you may wish to take some time to browse Coats of arms by country on Wikimedia Commons. Another good source of information on continental heraldic styles (particularly German-Nordic styles) is Ottfried Neubecker (1976) Heraldry: Sources, Symbols and Meaning Maidenhead, England: McGraw-Hill. I own this book and will be happy to bring it to meetings. Wilhelm Meis (Quatsch!) 16:28, 22 August 2009 (UTC)